"No one is an automatic selection, even I am not"- Rohit Sharma sends clear message to his players ahead of Asia Cup
Indian captain Rohit Sharma claimed that no player has sealed his spot in the Indian squad for the ODI World Cup later this year. Injury concerns to KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer have forced the Men in Blue to try out different players in different positions.
Rohit feels that the upcoming Asia Cup will be another great challenge for the Indian team where they will understand what works for them as far as the batting line-up and the team combination is concerned.
On the sidelines of a LaLiga event in Mumbai, here's what Rohit Sharma had to say about, here's what Rohit Sharma had to say about India's probable team for the World Cup:
“No one is an automatic (selection), even I am not. We have this thing where nobody is guaranteed a spot. We cannot say that ‘you are there after all’ or things like that. Yes, some players know that they are going to play but at this point in time, playing three ODIs in the West Indies was a good opportunity to look at a few guys. In the Asia Cup, again, we will face good opposition."
Rohit further added:
“Shreyas and KL are coming off not playing anything for four months, big injuries, surgeries rather. Both had surgeries. I know, I had to undergo surgery once and how it feels afterwards, it is quite tough. We have to see, how they respond, what they do. The selection (meeting) will be there in a few days, we will have a good debate about what we can do. But honestly nobody is an automatic choice – they all have to fight for the spot – everyone has to, whether it is a top spot or a bottom spot."
I want to see batting under pressure in Asia Cup: Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharma also doesn't want the Indian team, especially the batting, to be overdependent on individuals. For this, he wants to see how players take to the pressure of match situations during the upcoming Asia Cup.
On this, he stated:
“We will see, we want to win but at the same time there are a lot of questions that we need answers of. But in the Asia Cup, I want to see some of the guys batting under pressure against quality teams. It is always nice to have a lot of names, rather than just one or two names. I hope they are fit in time – firstly that is the most important."
India will open their Asia Cup campaign against Pakistan at Kandy on September 2.